Dramaturgy

Rob Salerno is an experienced story editor whose advice is highly prized by those he’s worked with. Rob believes that the key to a successful story editing is to ask the writer a lot of questions and home in on what it is that he or she is trying to say, and helping the writer direct every aspect of the script toward articulating that. It’s not about telling the writer what to do; it’s about helping the writer make the strong artistic choices that will best communicate his or her message.

Most recently, Rob helped shepherd Jeff Leard’s wildly successful solo show The Show Must Go On from a first draft to a polished script that went on to win rave reviews in ten cities along the Fringe Festival Circuit.

Jeff Leard in The Show Must Go On. Photo by Dahlia Katz. Layout by Mikaela Dyke.

Rob also served as dramaturg on lemonTree Creations and Ten Foot Pole Theatre’s 2009 co-production of the classic play Deathwatch by Jean Genet. On that show, Rob drafted a new translation of Genet’s masterpiece by working from the last published version of the French play from 1986, which is very different from the only published English translation, which dates from the 1950s. Rob then worked with the director and cast to help them articulate the sexual and racial messages that had been stripped from the official translation. The production went on to be a sold-out hit.

Rob is available to work with other writers to help them draft their best work. Send him a message at robert_salerno@hotmail.com to enquire about rates.